Pohang Steelers and Jeonbuk Hyundai will attempt to win the 2023 FA Cup with the keywords 10 and 6, respectively.
The Pohang Steelers and Jeonbuk Hyundai will meet in the 2023 Hana OneQ FA Cup Final at Pohang Steelyard on Thursday. It will be their first meeting in 10 years.
Pohang advanced to the final after defeating Jeju United on penalties in the quarterfinals at Jeju World Cup Stadium on April 1. Jeonbuk advanced to the final with a 3-1 victory over Incheon in the quarterfinals at Jeonju World Cup Stadium.레모나토토 도메인
Pohang will try to win the title for the first time in 10 years. Jeonbuk will try to win their second consecutive title after last year and set a new record for most wins (six). Pohang will be looking to win their first trophy in 10 years. The two teams met in the final of the 2013 Football Association Cup, with Pohang taking home the trophy after a penalty shootout.
The FA Cup, which encompasses both amateur and professional teams, is a prestigious competition, especially as it comes with a 300 million won prize fund and a ticket to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League.
The ACL is a new challenge. The prize pool itself is completely different.
According to the ACL revamp announced by the AFC in August, the ACL Elite prize pool will be worth $12 million (16 billion won), tripling the current ACL prize pool of $4 million.
Neither Pohang nor Jeonbuk have secured a ticket to the ACL Elite yet. In Korean professional soccer, the winner of the Korea Football Association Cup, as well as the winner of the K League 1, is awarded a spot in the AFC Champions League Elite, and Ulsan has already claimed the top spot in the K League 1.
Pohang is in second place and Jeonbuk is in fourth. The K League 1 runner-up qualifies for the playoffs instead of the main competition.
The will of the players is also exceptional. They have a fierce determination to overcome their opponents no matter what.
“I remember that we won a penalty shootout against Jeonbuk (10 years ago), and I will try to work with the players to continue the good memories,” said Pohang coach Kim Ki-dong. “This year, we haven’t lost to Jeonbuk once, and the players know that Jeonbuk is clearly better than us. Nevertheless, we are overpowering Jeonbuk, and I hope the players have confidence in themselves.” He did not hide his will to win.
Jeonbuk coach Dan Petrescu said, “We are happy to be in the final. After Romania, China, and Saudi Arabia, it’s meaningful to be in the cup final in Korea.” “The finals are supposed to be played home and away, but this time it’s a single-leg in Pohang. I don’t understand it a bit, but if that’s the rule, I’ll follow it. Jeonbuk is a team that knows how to win. We will try our best,” he said.
“Of course, the record doesn’t tell the whole story,” said Petrescu, who will be looking for his first win against Pohang this season. It’s one draw and three losses, and if you look at Pohang’s second place in the league and their good form in the ACL, they are definitely a strong team. But we didn’t come to the final to just play soccer. We’re here to win. We will take care of the little things in this match and make a good result.”